Workshops & Events

Jazmin Gallegos & Rachel Urban

Wednesday & Thursday, July 29–30
10am–5pm

This workshop is free and reserved for K–12 Utah educators.

SOLD OUT

Please contact the Book Arts Program to be added to the waitlist. 

Join fellow educators for an immersive exploration of book arts and printmaking and discover how these versatile mediums can be integrated into your classroom to foster a creative, collaborative community of inquisitive learners. In this two-day, hands-on workshop, educators create a variety of book forms using easy-to-find materials and incorporating printmaking techniques that can easily be replicated in the classroom. Additionally, educators are introduced to the Provisional printing press, available for check-out and classroom use after training. Explore the historical and contemporary significance of printmaking and the physical book and consider how visual storytelling and bookmaking can help students reflect on the world around them, share their ideas, and connect meaningfully with one another. This workshop is grant-funded and free for all Utah educators. USBE re-licensure hours are available. Space is limited and on a first come, first serve basis. 

Rachel Urban

Saturday, September 26, 2026
1–5pm

$75

What is a Risograph duplicator, and why is it all the rage? The Riso is a Japanese stencil duplicator that blends the functionality of photocopying with the artistry of screen printing. This workshop introduces the requisite skills and best practices for Risograph printing, safe use of the studio cutters, and the Book Arts Studio Use policies. After completing the workshop, participants are invited to apply for  independent studio use  to produce individual projects. Approved independent users have access to the machine during open studio hours and pay a fee of $10/hour plus materials.  

Pietro Accardi

Friday–Saturday, October 16–17
10am–5pm

$310

Participants learn and practice historical and modern paper marbling patterns that were developed for embellishing the end papers of books. Considerations and use of metallic paint are discussed as are ideas on how to use simple, harmonious color palettes using the color wheel. Participants also learn overmarbling, a technique where one pattern is superimposed upon another to create a magnificent and complex play of pattern. Participants leave the workshop with up to thirty sheets of marbled papers.

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Pietro Accardi began marbling more than thirty-five years ago at his father’s printing press. As a self-taught marbler, he developed his own unique perspective and understanding of marbling through much trial and error. For twelve years Pietro owned a Bookbindery in Turin, Italy and worked for Turin’s main library, the Municipal Archives and University Libraries restoring and binding documents and books. Since coming to the U.S. in 2012, he runs his paper marbling and book restoration business near Lake Tahoe with his wife and cats. He has taught regularly at the San Francisco Center for the Book since 2014.

Rachel Urban

Saturday, November 14
1–5pm

$70

Children six- to eighteen-years old are welcome to bring an adult friend or family member to explore bookmaking through the lens of a naturalist. Each participant creates two books: a  folded book form with pockets for found materials and a sewn book made of recycled materials to document findings in the wild. The workshop covers simple stamp-making and embellishments. After the workshop, head outside to observe, collect, and connect with the natural world that awaits!

Friday, December 16
4–7pm

Free and open to the public

Join the Book Arts Program for a double celebration of our annual Print Appreciation and the opening reception for the Booking a Brouhaha exhibition! In the gallery, check out the amazing work from students in academic book arts courses. In the studio, print from a   number   of   provided   printing   matrices   with the option of   overprinting   these   modular elements   to match individual taste. We invite the public to drop in and print as many cards as time or wallet allow at $4/card or 3 cards for $10.00. Proceeds   support the Book Arts Program   outreach and academic programs . 

Emily Tipps

Saturday, January 23
1–5pm

$95  

Hand decorated paper makes a great alternative to commercially printed sheets, and some engaging and straightforward techniques yield interesting results with distinct character. Participants in this workshop learn three methods for creating unique decorated papers. Paste paper, a tradition dating to the 16^th century, uses simple tools and pigmented paste to create decorative patterns. In the ancient marbling practice of suminagashi, ink is suspended on water, manipulated, and transferred to paper. Finally, sumi and walnut ink can be used with brushes, bottles, salt, washes and more to create bold and expressive designs. Participants will learn the basics of all three of these techniques and have the opportunity to try them on a variety of paper stocks. The resultant papers can be kept as samples or used in book projects and in other paper arts such as collage and multi-media works.

Amy Thompson

Saturday, March 20
1–5pm

$75

Interested in applying color to the edges of paper projects or books? Edge treatment may feel like a closely guarded secret, but isn’t as tricky as it looks. Participants learn to build perfect-bound books and give them a smart-looking finish . After completing the workshop, participants are invited to apply for  independent studio use . Approved independent users have access to the airbrushduring open studio hours, pay a fee of $10/hour, and should bring their own airbrush paint.

Jazmin Gallegos

Tuesdays, May 18 & 25; June 1 & 8
4:30–7:30pm

$250

This fast-paced, four-week bookmaking venture introduces the fundamentals of bookbinding. Participants learn several book structures which may include folded forms, non-adhesive bindings, hard- and softcover sewn structures, and enclosures. Topics of discussion include studio practices, the selection and utility of various materials, and the role of the handmade book, but the primary emphasis is on materials and their properties, the functionality of various structures, acquiring hand skills and improving craft.

Registration through Lifelong Learning will open in the spring.

Sara Luz Jensen

Thursdays, May 20–June 17
4:30–7:30pm

$280

This course explores basic methods of conservation treatments as well as the reasons for performing—or not performing—book repairs. Basics of book repair are introduced: paper repair, book anatomy, how to fix common points of failure,and simple enclosures for protection. The class works together to determine the treatment options for specific damaged books while also considering the ethics of performing those treatments. As students perform conservation treatments they learn about appropriate materials, adhesives, and the tools of the trade. Students leave with a minimum of two treatments, a basic kit of conservation tools, and foundational knowledge to complete basic repairs at home.

Registration through Lifelong Learning will open in the spring.

Brien Beidler

Thursday–Saturday, June 24–26
10–5pm

$425 

Participants in this fun, fast-paced workshop will explore 17^th  and early 18^th century binding methods and materials as they create a full-leather binding fit for use and expression in a modern context. Students will employ techniques such as sewing on raised cords and edge trimming in boards, using historic materials such as handmade book board and hide glue. Participants leave with a blind tooled full-leather binding. This class is ideal for anyone searching for an accessible path to learn traditional hand bookbinding with leather, as well as for experienced binders and conservators looking to deepen their knowledge and expand their technical repertoire.

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Brien Beidler is a bookbinder and toolmaker who explores the structure, aesthetics, and impact of pre-industrial bindings. In Brien’s practice, bookbinding and toolmaking are means to investigate the role books have played in the history of ideas and culture. Brien is deeply inspired by the processes of traditional bookbinders and uses tools and techniques that replicate the structural and visual properties of historic bindings. Brien specializes in hand-engraved finishing tools and other decorative stamps for his own work and other bookbinders, leatherworkers, and woodworkers. He teaches workshops in bookbinding, gold tooling with egg glair, and finishing tool making, and is on the board of Co-Directors for the Paper and Book Intensive . Brien holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the College of Charleston, where he was first introduced to bookbinding in the library’s Special Collections. He was the Director of the Bindery and Conservation Lab at the Charleston Library Society from 2012-2016 before establishing his own practice. His studio is currently based in Minneapolis, MN. www.beidlermade.com